Quantrill blanks Rays 6-0, first to shut them out since May 24
Cal Quantrill threw 7 shutout innings to hand the AL East-leading Rays their third loss in 5 games, though Tampa Bay still sits 3 games up on New York with a playoff berth within reach.
Quantrill first to blank Rays since May 24
Cal Quantrill threw 7 shutout innings against the Rays on September 3, the first pitcher to blank Tampa Bay since Ryan Weathers did it on May 24, per @TalkinBaseball_. Corey Seager, Evan Carter and Jake Burger all drove in runs as the Rangers closed it out 6-0 in Texas.
Rangers0-6Shane McClanahan started for the Rays and worked 5 innings, allowing 4 earned runs on 6 hits with a walk and 3 strikeouts. The loss dropped Tampa Bay to 2-3 in their last 5 games after a hot run through the end of August.
Rays could clinch as soon as Sunday
None of it has dented the Rays' hold on the AL East. At 83-57, Tampa Bay leads the Yankees by 3.0 games, with New York's elimination number sitting at 20. Boston trails by 7.5 games with an elimination number of 15, and Toronto (13.5 back, elimination number 9) and Baltimore (14.5 back, elimination number 8) are further removed still.
| AL East | W | L | Pct | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Rays | 83 | 57 | .593 | — |
 Yankees | 80 | 60 | .571 | 3.0 |
 Red Sox | 76 | 65 | .539 | 7.5 |
 Blue Jays | 70 | 71 | .496 | 13.5 |
 Orioles | 69 | 72 | .489 | 14.5 |
Per Adam McCalvy, MLB says the Rays and Brewers can each clinch a postseason berth as soon as Sunday, though he cautioned the math got complicated last year with so many teams and head-to-head tiebreakers involved. The point stands: keep winning, and it is right around the corner.
Upcoming
The Rays are in Texas tonight, where Nick Martinez takes the mound for Tampa Bay against the Rangers' Trevor Williams. Martinez is 13-4 with a 2.99 ERA and last started August 29 against San Diego, working 6 innings and allowing 3 earned runs on 7 hits with 4 strikeouts and no walks over 81 pitches in a no-decision. Williams carries a 3.93 ERA without a decision on the season yet.
Tampa Bay is favored to close out the series, and the total points to a low-scoring game — fitting for a matchup a night after Quantrill just shut the Rays out. Martinez holding to his recent form against a Texas lineup that has to solve him again is the case for the number; a repeat of Thursday's shutout is the case against it.